Apple Core
by Cameko
Summary: Genesis lives a virtuous life as a proud and calm 1st class SOLDIER in Midgar until he meets a mysterious girl who almost drives him insane. Soon they get involved in a decisive battle to save the planet-Two years before Crisis Core-
1. Prologue

Final Fantasy VII: Apple Core

_"I am the land, my eyes are the skies, my limbs the trees, I am the stone, and the water's depth... I'm not here to obtain the nature. I am nature…" (the old adage of the ancients)_

Prologue

A train ran at full speed through the separate sectors of Midgar. Minutes later the old locomotive slowed down under a large bridge. Darkness surrounded the great metropolis of Midgar; slowly, the lights in the houses and the lampposts on the streets activated in order to illuminate the city until the morning came. It was a quiet night even though the city was full of life. The habitants couldn't complain about the prosperity because they had everything they needed and wanted. A home, work, money, and a trustworthy government known as the Shin-Ra Electric Power Company. Midgar wasn't an idyllic beautiful city, indeed the exact opposite of a picture book town, because neither trees nor flowers or other green plants grew. No, the conditions of climate and soil were too destroyed to be a biotope for plants and animals. But…who needed trees when you already lived in the lap of luxury?

Two people sat on one of the drawbridges and discussed that inequitable life. The twosome were curious and wanted to see how the city vegetated because only one portion of Midgar was rich. The other faction consisted of seventy percent slums and polluted residential area. The ground was void of nutrients, so plants and flowers were unable to grow. The air in the slums was filthy and the water too impure to drink. It was anything but pleasant for the people who were forced to live below the plate.

Many of the habitants were just stuck even though they had the courage and money to immigrate. However…no matter how poor the land was, they loved the cluttered town and didn't want to leave it. They had valuable memories and the dirty, uncomfortable living area of Midgar was something like a hometown to them. A home: a place where they were born and raised. Even without the wealth of those above the plate, they lead optimistic lives because they had no other option but to appreciate their poverty. Life was too precious to simply cast it asunder so easily…

The two young adults were sitting on the bridge below the moving train, letting their legs dangle over the edge. Their conversation was interrupted and they fell silent until the train passed and the loud clatter of the vehicle speeding down the tracks faded.

The capes they wore to conceal their bodies were simply loose and white in design. Their faces were masked; only their eyes were uncovered. They looked like desert thieves who planned their next attack to steal treasure. Their hands were covered in thick, white gloves that stretched up to their elbows. The boots they wore were slightly different, but it was clear they were still a pair. It was not unusual to see suspicious people in Midgar in the middle of the night…

The large advertising poster of the LOVELESS stage production flickered in the background of Sector 8. The city never rested completely, for the citizens of Midgar never slept. The massive mako reactors around the orbital town were constantly active. In the night, the trains were often very late. It was the same as always.

The time never stopped and the city grew more and more with each passing day. The metropolis unfolded it's splendor under the regiment of the 'Shin-Ra Electric Power Company' and the citizens who lived on the platform could live a pleasant life. Shin-Ra Inc. was great and very popular, because they consistently kept their promises and powered other small towns and villages in the surrounding area with mako electricity, so all the people had a comfortable life.

But of course ...there were a few people standing outside the association who didn't want to accept that Shin-Ra Inc. was successful and achieved utter dominance, which made a incomprehensible fortune because of their reclaimed mako energy. Such a resistance was against the Shin-Ra Company, and with relatively mild protests, they tried to attempt voicing their displeasure with the organization's practices. Unfortunately, the number of active resistance fighters was not more than two young people. And these two were just sitting, relaxed, on the drawbridge and talking about all the world and his brother...

The air up above the platform was cleaner than the air in the slums and the starry sky shone above the metropolis. The young woman in the bright uniform dared a glance upward to the great Shin-Ra headquarters which was built in the middle of the city. She saw some huge cranes that transported components made out of steel and iron. Although Midgar was still under construction, it still managed to grow with considerable speed. It was very impressive.

"Isn't it a little too early to choose a birthday gift for the president?"

A beer coaster thumped down the bridge and disappeared somewhere in the darkness of the railway tracks. The young man looked at his feminine partner with a sarcastic grin from the side and pulled the lower part of his white scarf away to get a few sips of cold beer. The woman next to him ccrossed her legs and leaned back slightly.

"I just want to talk to the president," the female voice answered in a serious and determined tone, while the man leaned forward to get an eye on the city lights in the distance before he shook his head.

"...You think you have enough luck to pass hundreds of guards and infantrymen just to get a piece of gossip to the president? It's too risky to infiltrate the Shin-Ra-building...but I'll see what I can do, maybe I'll be able to help you somehow…"

"...You've got the upper hand. I just hope that you can organize a conference with the president. That's all what I want."

"Sure! Anything else I can do for you?"

"No need to be sarcastic…"

"What a nice wish coming from you…"

Another smaller train passed loudly beneath the bridge and seconds later the whole area was quiet once again. The mysterious man in white chuckled before he continued to drink his beer. For a minute, the two just sat there and remained silent until the very pleasant female voice sounded again.

"No. It's the wish of the planet."

Without another word, she jumped confidently on another passing train and landed with both feet on the shaky roof. The man threw his nearly empty bottle into the darkness and with a sigh he shook the head again before he followed his female partner. He stood on the roof of the train and ran a few steps forward to secure the girl and hold her firmly. The fast train ran through the darkness to the train station of Sector 8...


	2. The Mako City

**Chapter 1 The Mako City**

_''...Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey. In my own salvation. And your eternal slumber...''_

In the truest sense of the word. He could almost fall asleep at the dinner table in the crowded cafeteria. A great suggestion of fatigue had tormented him the entire day. In front of him, the table was laid with raw carrots, tomatoes, and cream cheese. The steaming hot tea smelled good to the tired SOLDIERs who had just visited the cafeteria to fill their stomachs.

In the secluded corner of the room, some 3rd Class SOLDIERs seemed to be in an oddly solemn mood despite their success at their missions so far. It was still so uncommon to see how exhausted and worn out the best members of SOLDIER were. Perhaps because there was so much the SOLDIERs had to prepare for the upcoming examination to rise the highest SOLDIER level. The SOLDIER 2nd classes had the wonderful privilege of driving around on missions under the supervision of the mentors to steal their bodies and their mental qualities.

It was incredibly tiring. Even for people like SOLDIER. After all ... they were indeed only human. At least, apart from that, a 1st class trained SOLDIER had amazing skills and abilities. And they differed in one important way from the rest of mankind.

They were infused with mako energy. SOLDIERs were almost perfect humans.

''...Eternal slumber? I wish I could sleep for all eternity. That's my passionate desire at the moment, you know?''

That was it. No high-energy carbohydrates in the evening, but some disturbing LOVELESS quotes in his ears. His best friend sounded very melodic when he shared the LOVELESS quotes with the whole world. Almost like an Ancient Greek rhapsodist who traveled to festivals and celebrations to sing his epic songs.

Meanwhile, Angeal accustomed himself to Genesis' words. Most of the time he had nothing better to do than reciting these more or less profound words of the LOVELESS poem to him. Such was the case at the moment, during dinner in the canteen of the Shin-Ra headquarters at eight o'clock in the evening. The tea cooled slowly.

''...Do you really feel epic because of this book?'' Angeal looked at his childhood friend with a slight smile and pointed to his book before he leaned back in the chair. Genesis smiled arrogantly and wiped his hair out of his face. Of course he felt epic. Very epic. LOVELESS was epic and so maybe he was epic too.

''...Is this a trick question, Angeal?''

The black haired SOLDIER shook his head and smiled again. With a silent sigh, Genesis laid the book aside and devoted his attention to his hot tea. He began to sip the steaming tea loudly as Angeal hit him lightly on his arm. Genesis sucked the cooler air into his lungs after a sharp, hot pain spread over his beautiful lips. He cursed silently and glared at his friend. The pain from the boiling tea was simply awful. Genesis had a great tendency to cause small, stupid accidents, and now he ironically thanked Angeal in his mind for the burning pain and an aching blister on his upper lip.

Suddenly the conversations throughout the cafeteria stopped as a neat, blond young man in a smart suit entered the canteen. He carried a few documents under his arm and looked at the young 3rd class SOLDIERs sitting at the tables in front of him, waiting until they slowly calmed down. He glanced peacefully at the SOLDIERs before Genesis drew his attention as he bit noisily into a hard carrot. Director Lazard didn't say a word, but slowly walked around to deliver some paper to the young SOLDIERs. The results of the theory exams.

Lazard was a very calm and competent manager, and directed the greatest unit of the Shin-Ra Electric Power Company. He was chosen to manage the perfectly educated elite force of the regiment, called SOLDIER. And he had not shied from this huge responsibility; far from it. He was competent, calm, friendly, and he had developed a tremendous political acumen in regards to the Shin-Ra-association with the city and the citizenry. Director Lazard Deusericus was a real workaholic but he was really okay.

"Dear members of SOLDIER. Of course, it was not my intention to disturb your well-deserved evening. I just wanted to thank you for your excellent performance on the missions weeks ago. On behalf of Shin-Ra, I hereby express my gratitude and I hope to see you grow to be unique fighters. You all have great potential to become a 1st class SOLDIER. As you know, the 50th Birthday of the President is coming soon. You shall voluntarily participate in the celebration. Tomorrow, you'll get some more detailed information from me. The 2nd class SOLDIERs Angeal Hewley and Genesis Rhapsodos should also be prepared for the infiltration of Sector 4. "

That was nice. But Angeal was as calm as always. The best and exciting things were kept secret until the very end and Lazard was always up for a surprise. Angeal looked discreetly at the Director while Genesis sat next to him, absorbed with his own thoughts. He folded his arms across his chest. Yes, that sounded good. He was just happy if he could play the real hero tomorrow on the mission. It was almost an insult to his dignity to play in mud like young children. He wanted a real mission. An order that meets the standards of a SOLDIER. Lazard had assured him many times that he would sooner or later get his wish, but Genesis had yet to see this promise fulfilled so far...

''I expect some of you tomorrow in the meeting room. Take care till then.''

The silence continued until Lazard went to the door and abandoned the cafeteria with a slight smile. Angeal sighed resignedly and emptied his cup of tea before he tiredly stretched his limbs. So tomorrow was another mission they had to cope with. It was clearly verified that Director Lazard was particularly pressuring the young SOLDIER.

Genesis knew he had to sleep well after some disturbed nights. He was always stressed out in the last few weeks. But for an unknown reason Angeal had much more stamina to conquer the hard work he had to do. How often did Angeal need to call him in the morning because Genesis was late for conferences or overslept through his missions? Angeal was very conscientious and he knew that he had to keep the honor as a SOLDIER. Throughout his whole life, he had proven himself to be industrious, honest and committed.

Unfortunately Genesis was pretty boastful, arrogant. In some ways, Angeal suspected that his friend had lost his honor as an elite SOLDIER...

But the two knew each other since their childhood and were more then just good friends. They were almost like brothers.

''I'm going to bed now.''

Angeal stood up slowly and headed for the door. Genesis joined him quickly, putting his LOVELESS novel into his black sweater jacket he wore over his SOLDIER uniform. Today, Angeal had not been very talkative, but he knew that he was just tired because the last few hours had been incredibly exhausted. He hoped the next time wouldn't be so fatiguing. They needed a vacation.

Genesis hated theoretical lessons, especially math and biochemistry. He wished these things would come more easily to him. He often asked Angeal for help, but his friend was very stingy, so Genesis had no other choice as to prove himself if he wanted to be an epic SOLDIER 1st class like ... Sephiroth. Since ancient times Genesis was dying to become like Sephiroth and he was almost a 1st class SOLDIER too. This access proved him that he was more then hardworking.

Only a few days, a few days ...

Angeal waited impatiently as the elevator finally opened. Since the Shin-Ra building was a place of popular employers, the entire atmosphere seemed to be very active. So many jobs, so many busy people, and so many SOLDIERs who were graduating their education. Of course the company was dependent on the staff. The entire 70 level building has been classified into different areas. One department was a big shopping center with an art gallery, and the other sections belonged to the Research Department, including the huge weapon development, secretarial, training rooms, SOLDIER quarters, canteens, a hospital for Shin-Ra staff and elite fighters and the office of the President, including a conference hall. It was just an incredibly large and almost unbeatable highly guarded building with the seat of government to simply demonstrate how powerful the regiment was. Above the 60th floor a special key card was required to open the doors and lifts. And above these higher levels, Shin-Ra Inc. continued working on their plans to enlarge the city and keep up the prosperity. The energy supplies were perfect and thus Midgar could grow up every day. The city was no longer in its infancy.

Angeal waited a minute, two minutes, three minutes until he decided to leave the stubbornly closed elevator to use the staircase. Genesis followed him to the SOLDIER quarters through the silent corridors.

The black-haired SOLDIER remained in the hallway and looked at some young recruits who were currently running across their path. The small boy with his black spiky hair was a young, articled SOLDIER 3rd class, maybe around 14 or 15 and Angeal had watched him several times already. His skills in combat were so incredibly clumsy, but he had some sharp wit. Angeal couldn't believe that a boy like him would attain a rapid ascent and become a genuine 1st class SOLDIER, but he had some interesting characteristics and maybe one day he would attain his dreams.

When the three young men disappeared behind the corner and the corridor was quiet again, Genesis began to yawn extensively.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep well. "

The redhead just nodded and smiled slightly, clapping a hand onto Angeal's shoulder briefly before he turned around and went to his apartment. A few months ago, he had shared quarters with Angeal, but the LOVELESS-addiction of Genesis was too scary. It was getting on his nerves and annoyed him and so Angeal decided to sleep alone in a quiet room without Genesis who even quoted LOVELESS in his dreams as well...

"Nothing will stop my return …," he replied, simply powerless, and headed for the door at the end of the floor.

Angeal sighed a little bit desperately and folded his arms in front of his chest. "Sounds very optimistic, you moron. I'm serious about that. You should entirely stop with that LOVELESS crap. It is your fault if you oversleep the mission again."

As Genesis heard these words he stopped, turned around, and smiled again at the annoyed gaze of his best friend. Angeal tilted his head slightly to the side.

"I'll not sleep away the day. The last time it was really just an oversight. Sleep well, Angeal. Until tomorrow, " Genesis replied, combing his hair with one hand to the side before he turned around to open the door to his room.

At the end of the corridor, he opened the door with a key card and entered silently. The quarters weren't luxurious but the SOLDIERs were allowed to live in these rooms during their education. It was a great arrangement, especially for SOLDIERs who came from afar. It had only one bedroom, and a separated bathroom was not available, but it wasn't bad after all. It was a good choice to live alone in a room for people like Genesis because he was someone who needed quiet time for himself. But he also loved to read books in the presence of Angeal. LOVELESS, an epic poem written by an unknown author, had the right skill to fascinate him. Genesis found it in the library of his parents a few years ago and he was excited about this novel from the very beginning. He could not refrain from quoting the verses of LOVELESS because he was someone who understood the beauty of these words. Yes, this poem which told of three heroes and a goddess had completely seduced him …

Carefully he shut the door behind him and began to pull the SOLDIER uniform off his body. He could hardly wait to be crowned as a 1st class SOLDIER. Genesis knew he was good enough to become a hero like his friend Sephiroth who was finished a year before the final mission. Maybe he would then be able to hold a candle to him. Genesis wanted to be paid as much attention as Sephiroth, who was viewed as a hero, even if Angeal said that Genesis had to be more than just a good fighter to be a hero like Sephiroth. Since then, Genesis had nursed partly utopian ideas to become as successful as Sephiroth was.

And this year, finally his dream to become a hero came closer and closer. To be a good SOLDIER 1st class was the first step. Genesis already got a lot of attention from the Director, the mentors and even Shin-Ra, though he knew that wasn't enough at all. But Genesis was happy to prove his abilities and to show that he simply had the potential to be an epic SOLDIER. He could do it, no, he had to do it ... he wanted to be a hero at any price. A hero like Sephiroth.

In front of his bed, he took his boots off his feet and put them aside so they would not serve as a stumbling block. With a glass of water and LOVELESS in his hands, he went out to the small balcony and looked down on the metropolis of Midgar. The Shin-Ra headquarters were built on an incredible rise to overlook the whole city. For Genesis, who was raised in the farming village Banora alongside Angeal, this metropolis was very unfriendly. Even if Midgar showed him a beautiful ocean of lights like a starry sky in the middle of the night..

The only difference between them was that Genesis had quite rich parents and in contrast to Angeal, whose family lived in poverty, he grew up in the best conditions a child could have.

Banora, an innocent small town on the southern continent of Mideel had been supported and provided for by Shin-Ra. It gained publicity because of its fruit industry. In Banora grew a variety of apples that were nowhere else in the world to be found. Only in Banora was the soil good enough to cultivate these healthy and delicious blue apples that flourished all year round. They grew in every season and were therefore jokingly called dumbapples. Genesis' parents owned a large plot of land and in it belonged a famous apple orchard with the most nutrient-rich soil. The apple trees known as the white banoras were quite healthy and expensive to export to other countries, so Genesis' parents earned a lot of money from the trade.

Those who had a lot of money also automatically owned much power, and his parents shamelessly used their positions as mighty people. After school Genesis should have been studying genetic science at the side of the famous scientist and genetic engineer Hollander, who currently worked in Shin-Ra's research department. But Genesis had his own plans for the future. He wanted to neither graduate nor sit all day in some Shin-Ra offices to play with genes of humans and animals. He wanted to focus on becoming a hero and it was his best opportunity to join SOLDIER. His parents weren't happy with his choice because they found it simply impossible and awful that Genesis learned to fight at the military unit and killed like a heroic war machine. He was actually a very nice little boy, and he grew up like a normal child.

But finally no one could annihilate his dream. He was a very determined young man and with his 22 years quite independent enough to decide for himself what he had to do whatever he wanted. He never gave up his dream even if Angeal said that Genesis' dream would be unfulfilled for all eternity...

Genesis still continued gazing at the city as a cool breeze ran through his reddish brown hair and tousled it slightly. Despite Angeal and his financial circumstances at the time in Banora, they were still best friends. Their exceptionally great friendship was an important part of his life. No matter what happened, Genesis trusted his friend. They needed the confidence the other provided...

Genesis leaned carefully over the balcony railing and placed the glass next to him before he stroked the cover of the LOVELESS book gently with his thumb. Sometimes he asked himself who the person was that wrote this epic poem. Officially, the author was unknown. Genesis believed without doubt that someone who wrote such a beautiful poem had to be beautiful too. He would like to meet the author and to ask him what had inspired him to write this poem and what his interpretation would it be and so on ... but the author was unknown. That was a fact. There were also no data that could indicate when the poem was written or where it came from...

Did the author simply wanted to remain anonymous? Genesis wasn't sure, but he loved this epic piece which now rested in his hands and was carried almost always by his side. The many possibilities of interpretation were incredibly interesting and he liked it to interpret the verses and present it to others.

LOVELESS ...

His sky blue, dreamy mako eyes glided over the horizon of the metropolis. There were four Mako reactors placed around the city to power it with energy obtained from the resources of the planet. Emerald green light flew from the reactors into the black night sky to be formally absorbed by the darkness ...

Tomorrow he had to go to the reactor in Sector 4 together with Angeal. A mission in a reactor. Genesis wondered why they had been chosen to pass their examination there. This was actually not typical for Lazard, but he most likely had his reasons as to why he was shooing two members of SOLDIER into a hazardous mako reactor.

Now Genesis leaned with his back on the balcony railing. Slowly he began to freeze in the chilly wind, so he decided to go back into his room and closed the door behind him. On the bed he laid back against the pillow and looked at the ceiling before he reached behind his top shelf with one hand and turned the light off. He closed his eyes and thought about Angeal. Sephiroth. The 50th Birthday of President Shinra. And ... sometimes he still thought about his hometown Banora. The warm, small village with the idyllic climate and the blue dumbapples. He could almost smell the sweet scent of the apple blossoms when he climbed on one of the apple trees as a child with Angeal to pick the best fruit and how he had fell with a broken limb...

With a painful forearm fracture and crying bitterly, he had remained under the tree until Angeal took him to his mother. It was such a pain... an incredible pain and Genesis still felt the crack of the bone when he recalled the past of the accident. Gillian Hewley, Angeal's mother, had comforted little Genesis and brought him to the single doctor of the village.

Banora ... Banora was not a normal town, however idyllic it was. Something bothered Genesis and it was not his parents who still lived there in a large villa. It was something else. Something … unknown. Perhaps he should address Angeal. Or ... maybe Genesis was just getting paranoid since he joined SOLDIER.

He turned around with a sigh, pulled the blanket over his half naked body, and closed his eyes again to fall asleep. He had to collect enough strength for the following day. Perhaps he would dream of his beautiful home or of the delicious dumbapples he fed to the Chocobos in the stables instead of eating them himself... Genesis was a rascal.

Midgar fell slowly into a quiet twilight even as the Mako reactors disturbed the silence as they drained the planet's energy and utilized the resources. Two young adults in mysterious bright vestments jumped from the arrived train in Sector 5. At that time, the streets were already empty and almost completely calm. Only the night trains still emerged the traffic and weird people were hanging around the railway station, just like the two people who had jumped straight from the night train to leave the station of Sector 5. The second time this evening, the woman looked up the Shin-Ra headquarters before she followed her partner again through the empty, grey streets of Midgar ...

From the railway station in Sector 5, they continued their long way down into the slums. It was dark and very bleak and the air smelled like exhaust fumes and metal. That was typical for the slums. Every sort of scrap was thrown down and contaminated the entire territory under the plate. The ruined church was one of the great buildings who survived the pollution. The church in the slums of Sector 5 was the meeting place of many children to find scrap they could sell. The poor people down there had no resources. The life between the slums and the upper platform of Midgar was really as different as night and day. The slums were dark and dirty and the upper plate covered the sky so the sunlight couldn't reach the town. For many people, it was just a nightmare to live in the slums, but they loved their country no matter how dirty it was and how much scrap had been thrown down from day to day ... it was unimportant how contaminated it was. Totally unimportant.

The man took the woman by the hand and led her through a tight dark alley into a dead end. At least it really looked like a dead end between all the scrap metal and the broken houses. She looked skeptically at her partner before they descended the stairs into a lower, hidden cellar.

Only after they entered the darkness, the girl stumbled over a sturdy wire and felt down on her knees. The scream in her ears was so incredibly painful. She heard it only very rarely in her head, usually unconsciously, but it hurt. It was a cry of pain, painfully insufferable like a little child tormented by a permanent toothache...

"You okay?" the man asked with his deep voice, and helped the woman to get up on her feet. Roughly he pulled on her arm until she stood again by herself. A hand was placed on her head and she was frightened. Her eyes could now see the candles that flickered through the dark room.

"... It still hurts him," she answered breathlessly and sighed softly. "And you think I'm safe here?"

"Of course. It is much safer than in Sector 6 where that perverted pimp Don Corneo lives. You don't trust me?"

The young woman just shook her head and turned to the dirty basement window before her eyes plummeted into a saddened gaze. If he said she was safe here, then it was okay. When he brought her to safety, then he did it without any doubts. Yes, she could trust him. She had done it her whole life, as long as she remembered. And yet she was a little scared when he would go back into the slums and abandon her.

"I have to go now. The sun is rising soon, then I should be back. Promise me that you won't get into unnecessary trouble. "

"What about the Turks?!"

She slightly panicked when she saw the answer of her question in his eyes. He just turned back to the door to leave the room but stopped. "The Turks? They think you're dead. They have no reason to chase you. Do not worry. "

The answer satisfied the young woman and she sighed again before she looked up from the ground and nodded decisively. Yes, she had to trust him. Finally, it was her only chance not to be conspicuous and attract the unwanted attention of Shin-Ra. And as long as no one else knew her name, it was okay and she had no cause to be concerned about that.

"Okay ... I trust you. Then ... I'll see you tomorrow again? "

Her partner only nodded approvingly before he finally left the room, closing the door behind him. Now she was alone, quite alone.

Shin-Ra's Turks breathed down in her neck, but she couldn't leave the city. She had much work to do no matter how dangerous it was for her. She lived constantly in danger and only wanted to go home. She didn't like the city. It was tiring to live in Midgar. The sad image of this metropolis made her cheerless but she was happier then ever when she finally could see a few rare rays of the morning sun brightening the slums...


End file.
